Mums-to-be warned high heels and big bellies don't mix

Stars with child, in stilettos

Producer Simon Fuller with pregnant singer Victoria Beckham and her son Brooklyn Beckham at the Hollywood Walk of Fame on May 23, 2011. Photo: evin Winter/Getty Images

Singer and designer Victoria Beckham may be a notorious clotheshorse,Christian Louboutin shoes but the heavily pregnant star's latest red-carpet fashion choice has raised eyebrows for the wrong reasons.
By choosing a pair of towering nude stilettos to wear for a photo opportunity at Hollywood's Walk of Fame yesterday, Beckham was putting herself and her child at undue risk, medical experts warned.
AMA Queensland President Gino Pecoraro,of the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, said Beckham's heels were part of a worrying trend.

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“They pose a problem for the child, but also the mother,” Dr Pecoraro said. “I would ask, 'Why put yourself and your child at risk for the sake of fashion?'”
Several high-profile pregnant celebrities have recently opted to follow the popular sky-scraping stiletto style for public appearances.
Kate Hudson, weeks away from giving birth to her second child,Christian Louboutin Specials made headlines in the UK for her choice of platform Christian Louboutin pumps on the Jimmy Kimmel Live studio in Hollywood earlier this month.
30 Rock star Jenna Krakowski was also shot in giant heels on the red-carpet of the Screen Actors Guild awards.
“You would argue that these stars are perhaps only wearing the heels for a short period of time,” Dr Pecoraro said. “But you can still fall down on the red-carpet.”
Dr Pecoraro said wearing six-inch heels late-term increased the mother's risk of injury from a fall brought on by a changed centre of gravity and hormonal shifts brought on by pregnancy.
The hormone relaxin, vital for the relaxation of the pelvic bone, also relaxed ankle joints, making walking in heels harder for some women, Dr Pecoraro said.
“When you couple that with the significant change in your centre of gravity you get when you're carrying a child, and the shifts in balance necessary to wear these very high heels, the chances of a harmful fall is much higher,” he said.
But Dr Pecoraro said that severe damage to the child was less likely than harm to the mother, though it was still a distinct possibility.
The build up of amniotic fluid in the uterus of pregnant women acts as a “pretty good shock absorber” he said.
“But if you were to fall flat on your face, concentrating the force of the impact on your tummy, it's likely that you could harm the child,” said Dr Pecoraro. “If it's only minor force sustained by a minor fall however,Christian Louboutin Pumps  the very clever design will do what it's supposed to do – protect.”
Other problems associated with wearing heels while pregnant included back pain, Dr Pecoraro said.
“I don't want to sound like the shoe police and I respect the mother's choice,” he said. “But it's about making a considered decision – is it really worth it?”